An Understanding
by BlacKTea
Summary: Between two people who were absolutely NOT dating. Sitting next to Rumi may have given him many responsibilities normally associated with that of a boyfriend. (He wasn't actually her boyfriend.) Yokoi/Seki from Seki's POV


A/N: So I guess I needed a little breather from The Demon To Her Left. Well, actually it's just that I really want to post the next chapter of that, but I'm determined to wait until Wednesday. (Besides my beta isn't done with it yet...) Although it is fun to write things that are lighter. LOL

So this is from Seki's POV. He turned out to be really sarcastic. In this story he actually talks. The reason he hardly talks to Rumi is doesn't need to talk to her. This story is set about midway through their Senior Year.

Disclaimer: I don't own the series. I'm just content to write about its characters.

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><p>"I mean I know you say you aren't together, but you guys are like <em>totally<em> together."

"We're not going out." It was nothing so simple as that. Tanaka should just believe him already.

"Then why does she make you lunch everyday?"

He smirked. Tricking her into making his lunch had been brilliant. All he had to do was eat a week's worth of cute foodstuffs and she was practically begging to make his bento everyday. Too easy. "She doesn't do that for me." It was amazing, really, the lengths she'd go to for something even moderately cute.

"Sure. And you carry her book bag for her because?"

"Use of territory settlement." He got to use any free space on her desk every other day excepting during a test. He could request her aid at anytime in activities concerning the Robot Family. And all he had to do was carry her books and walk her to and from school. It wasn't really inconvenient with her making his lunch, but sometimes he's almost certain she just put bricks in her bag to make life more difficult. She could be so petty sometimes.

"Use of- What the hell? Why can't you just admit you're dating? She's like always watching you."

He rolled his eyes. "Because we're not. And she isn't watching _me_. She's watching what I _do_." Like some sort of overzealous librarian or a crossing guard. Although most days now he could distract her with cute or shiny and she hardly interfered at all.

That is unless he decided to mess with her.

She was entirely to easy to troll.

"But Arabai saw her with your little sister at the park. They were super friendly. What kind of girl gets involved with someone's younger sister like that when they're not dating?"

He looked up at Tanaka. "Rumi," he said deadpan before returning to the fortress of rice he was constructing. It was too bad he didn't eat with said girl. She would have just quietly supported him in this endeavor.

"Okay, but at the last festival the school put on, your _mother_ was like hanging out with her."

Toshinari shuddered. "Rumi will stop at nothing to claim victory." He sometimes found that admirable. But not when she entered some twisted and unholy alliance with his mom.

"Of what?! _Your_ hand in marriage? Maeda said he sees her enter your house regularly around dinner time."

"So she comes over to dinner. Generally she helps cook. I don't know why my family likes her so much." Not that he really minded when she came over. When engaging in dinner table mischief, Rumi was surprisingly helpful.

Tanaka just slumped down in his seat. "This is pointless. You're parents probably already married you two while you weren't paying attention. After we graduate she'll probably just start climbing into bed with you and brushing her teeth beside you in the morning."

At the mention of Rumi being anywhere in the vicinity of his bed Toshinari accidentally over shot the placement of the next grain of rice and ended up demolishing the temple just as it was really coming together. He glared at Tanaka. "You sound like a shoujo manga artist. _Shut up_."

"Are you blushing? You know most of the school assumes that you two have already done the deed with the smoldering glances you exchange during class."

"Smoldering-? Tanaka, we're _fighting_. Half the time she's like my nemesis."

But Tanaka just shrugged. "Passion is passion and you guys have it. I just don't get why you're being so unreasonable. Everyone figured it out, so you don't have to keep it a secret."

But Toshinari just took to grinding up his remaining rice with unnecessary force.

While there were benefits to sitting next to Rumi, this whole constantly telling people they weren't dating thing was _not_ one of them. And the most annoying part was that she was _completely_ oblivious. She always seemed to notice whatever he was doing, but she hardly noticed much else.

Sighing he packed up his bento. "I just don't know what everyone's problem is. Rumi and I, we're just not like that."

But Tanaka just snorted. "Sure. I totally believe you. That's why you address her so familiarly."

He shrugged. He'd never felt right talking about her distantly because she was just always _there_. Just because they weren't dating, didn't mean they weren't close. Sometimes it was like she was the only one in the world to understand him. Sometimes it was like she could read his mind.

They had an understanding.

Too bad no one else understood it.

And it wasn't just the guys he hung out with.

_Her_ friends thought they were dating too even though he knew she'd never told them so.

"What did you do to Rumi-chan?"

He sighed. This was why it didn't pay to linger after school. Sometimes people cornered you. He gave Hashino Tomoka wary glance. It wasn't that she was intimidating with her short stature and big classes, but she was a girl. Girls were unpredictable creatures. "I didn't do anything to her."

But Hashino just crossed her arms and exchanged a hard look with Nakama Yuu. "Yeah, that totally explains why she just practically ran out of the school."

He sighed. He didn't really know what to tell them. "She's just overly excited." Really she always was. Although why she was so excited about a cactus puppet show was slightly mystifying. He had known she would like it, but he hadn't expected her to steal one of them with the intent of making more. "I mean, did she actually seem upset?"

Because she had been grinning manically last he saw as she stole the lead of his show. Damn teacher calling on him and distracting him.

From his activities.

Nakama tapped her chin in thought. "Well, not really."

Hashino also reluctantly admitted that she'd seemed fine.

He shrugged. "So there you go. I didn't do anything." Honestly, Rumi was the one who had done something wrong. Girls always were looking for drama somewhere.

Hashino laughed. "Sometimes I envy you two. You're relationship is just so stable."

He narrowed his eyes. "Hashino, we're not in a relationship."

Unfortunately that just made them both burst into laughter eventually Nakama regained enough voice to reply. "Wow, Seki-kun. You just sounded so serious. 'We're not in a relationship.' I don't know why you and Rumi-chan even bother pretending. Everyone knows. Even the teachers."

He felt his eyes widen. The teachers? That hadn't even occurred to him.

"But we're really not-"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. You guys are just so in tune," Hashino assured him even going so far as to tap him on the shoulder.

"It's like true love," Nakama informed him with two thumbs up.

Disgusted he just stomped to his shoe locker.

"What's the matter, Seki? Did you and Yokoi-chan have a fight?"

Seki growled and looked up from he was tying his shoes. The smug look on Uzawa's face was completely detestable. "No." He and Rumi were fine. He was reevaluating how he felt about the _rest_ of their peers.

Uzawa, predictably, just continued on. Unburdened by anything Seki was actually saying. "You just need to make it up to her? I'll help you!"

"Yeah, _no_." The last thing he needed was advice from Uzawa on his nonexistent relationship with Rumi. Besides over the years she too had come to realize how much of menace he was.

"Let's see. What do you do to make Yokoi-chan not mad?"

Toshinari sighed. It seemed this conversation was actually happening. "Give her something cute or a flower."

Uzawa just nodded like a proud parent. "See? You already thought of solution!"

He scowled at the moron. "I don't _need_ a solution."

Uzawa just laughed. "Ooh, so it's a big fight!"

"We're _not -"_

"But you can't let that get in the way of you're feelings for each other."

Seki finished tying his left shoe with an extra hard pull. Uzawa sounding like one of those fake psychologists on daytime TV. "I'm not worried about that."

Uzawa just slapped him on the back. "Man, you and Yokoi-chan are just so solid. Even when you fight, your feelings remain strong."

Toshinari shoved his hand off. "Yeah, I'm going now."

God. Even Uzawa, the most clueless person at the school, thought they were dating.

But they weren't. And _they_ knew they weren't.

How was this so hard for everyone to get?

The next day he was approached by Gotou Sakurako. (The girl who had a crush on Rumi.)

"Uh, hi," he said warily as she approached him. Apparently it wasn't safe to go to school early.

"I heard you and Yokoi-san had a fight."

He just gaped at her. "We didn't." Rumi was about the only one at school he wasn't irritated with.

He looked at where she was talking with Hashino and Nakame across the room. Their morning walk had been pleasant and she had made his favorite (steamed buns filled with pork) for his lunch. They'd even had the Robot Family out to enjoy the summer weather.

Gotou sighed in relief. "I'm so glad to hear that. It's hard on Yokoi-san when you fight."

His right eye started twitching. Hard on Rumi? Rumi was beyond happy to fight with him. Could they _not_ see the sadistic gleam she got in her eyes? "You don't say." Seriously, could no one actually see what she was like?

But Gotou just nodded. "Not that it isn't hard for you too. I've always admired Seki-kun for how free he is with his emotions."

He squinted at her as she walked away. Did Gotou somehow have a crush on the _both_ of them? Together? (Why?)

He seethed all day. Rumi noticed how shoddy his work was because of it, but otherwise made no mention. His was still quite frustrated after he dropped her off at her house and went to pick up his little sister from elementary.

"Is Nii-chan mad at me?"

He forced his scowl to loosen. "No, Jun. It's not you."

"Did something happen with Onee-chan?"

He froze mid step causing them both to stutter to halt. "Why do you ask that? Also _why_ do you call her that?"

"Because when your older brother loves a girl she becomes your older sister. Everyone knows that!"

Not his sister too! "But Jun we're not dating."

Jun just shrugged. "So? You can be in love and not date." The little girl tilted her head back in thought. "It's kinda weird. But you Onee-chan never hold hands or do gross kissy stuff. So I think it's alright."

He stomach twisted strangely at the thought of doing 'gross kissy stuff'' with Rumi. His sister was seven. It's not like she really knew what she was talking about.

There was no way he was in love with Rumi.

Right?

His sister just babbled on about her ever so exciting day in the second grade. She was completely oblivious to the turmoil she'd thrown him into.

Luckily his parents decided to give him space and by the next morning he felt like he could just go pick up Rumi and pretend everything was normal. The fact that probably everyone they knew thought they were dating was completely immaterial.

Completely.

Normally he met Rumi in front of her house, but she was running late so he ended up standing awkwardly by the kitchen table while she finished making his bento and her parents and older brother finished their breakfast.

Well, her mother did. Her father was pretty much glaring at him. They'd never actually talked. (Most of the time he was gone by the time Toshinari arrived.) "Uh, are you having a good morning, Sir."

Sir seemed the safest way to address the man with eyes sharp enough to split hairs. "Seki-kun, what exactly are your intentions towards my daughter?"

"Otou-san!" Rumi screeched as she carefully halved a hard boiled egg. Her blush gave away her embarrassment, but she just continued making their bentos. The look she shot him said she was sorry (but not overly so) for abandoning him.

"Uh, well," What exactly was she to him? She was the voice beside him always encouraging him to do the right thing or pay attention to class every once in a while. She was the one who would cheer him on and mourn his defeats at the hands of vigilant teachers and Uzawa. She was the one person he never actually had to explain himself to.

She was just Rumi.

"We have an understanding," he finally settled on.

This actually seemed to satisfy her father somehow. "Alright. As long as this understanding doesn't involve you and my daughter being alone in dark places."

"Otou-san! Seki-kun and I aren't like that." Rumi had just finished wrapping their lunches and was now standing beside him glaring at her father with her free hand on her hip.

Her brother snorted. "Well, if you aren't, you sure give a good impression of it."

Before Rumi could do more than blush, her mother actually turned to her to confused. "Wait? Rumi-chan _isn't_ dating Seki-kun?"

Rumi just shook her head. She looked at him asking for help, but he just shrugged. He'd been trying to tell people that for well over a year.

"Oh, well, when you do start dating, remember, _safety_ first." And then she winked at them. _Winked_.

"_Shiori!_" Rumi's father exclaimed, but Toshinari had already decided to drag Rumi out of her house. There was no shame in retreating from something like that.

"Sorry, Seki-kun. I've been trying to explain to them for years, but-" She shrugged. "Anyway, are you feeling better?'

He sighed. "Not really."

"Is it because of my family?"

He shook his head. "Not really," he said again. "It's not just them! Everyone thinks we're dating."

Rumi chuckled. "No they don't. How could everyone think that? Are trying to say even _Uzawa-kun_ things we're dating?" His face must have twitched. "Wait! Uzawa-kun thinks we're dating?!"

He shrugged. "Him and everyone else. Except Jun."

Rumi actually seemed relieved by this. "Oh thank goodness Jun-chan-"

"_She_ thinks we're just in love. She approves of our lack of 'gross kissy stuff' by the way."

Rumi actually just froze with her mouth falling open. "But we're not- I don't- I mean I don't _think_ I- Um?"

He frowned as he contemplated the girl in front of him.

On one hand he wasn't dating her. He knew that. And it was confusing that everyone else seemed to have come to the opposite conclusion.

On another hand. It wasn't like he was actually _opposed _to dating her.

"Seki-kun?"

He smirked at her in a way that let her know she was either going to be mad very soon. Or _not_.

He grabbed her shoulders gently and pulled her close.

...

Jun had no idea what she was talking about. Gross kissy stuff was _amazing_! Rumi seemed to agree because instead of inflicting pain on his person she wrapped her arms around him.

"Yes! Photographic evidence! The pool is mine!"

They both broke apart abruptly and watched their Math teacher skip off with way more glee than a middle aged man should posses.

And damn.

(The teachers _had_ known too.)

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><p>So let me know what you think. ^.^<p> 


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